Gynecomastia and Marijuana Use

[gynecomastiasucksbigtime]

Hello everyone, this is my first post so bare with me here. I have had gynecomastia for quite some time. For the past 2 years, I have been smoking marijuana constantly. About a month ago, I slowed down very much, but I used to smoke marijuana many times a day, every day. I also use to eat very unhealthy, but began to be conscious about what I was doing to my body like I said about a month ago. I have been doing some research lately on the connection of marijuana and gynecomastia, but every website says something different, so I came here.

1. Does marijuana cause gynecomastia?
2. Would chronic use of marijuana increase my breasts more so than someone who doesn't use marijuana but also has gynecomastia?
3. If I were to quit all drug use (including alcohol) would my breasts become smaller or possibly go away?

I appreciate any help I can get as I am having a hard time getting over my egoic ways due to my gynecomastia. I smoke marijuana to "get over" the pain of having gynecomastia, and if it is just making it worse, than I am in a pickle. Thanks.

[Paa_Paw]

There are no direct yes and no answers to your questions.

The lack of good reliable research on this subject leaves the issue even more clouded. This is not due to a lack of will on the part of researchers but to the fact that the government treats marijuana in the way it does and does not allow the proper research to move ahead.

It would seem that statistically there is an increased incidence of Gynecomastia among marijuana users. This would seem to be true even though some users are not affected.

The same is true of alcohol, with heavy drinkers having a higher incidence of Gynecomastia than non-drinkers.

When Gynecomastia is a side effect of drug use, it seems to regress when the drug is withdrawn early. If the Gynecomastia has been stabilized for an extended time, usually two years or more, regression is rare.

Neither marijuana nor alcohol seem to directly cause gynecomastia but they seem to creat a condition favorable to its development if a person is otherwise inclined to develop the condition..

[scrabble]

IMO if you got gyne before first smoking or drinking, then there I'd say there's little causal relationship between the two...

[jojo82]

THC has been shown to decrease serum testosterone levels in several studies (you can search through my comment history to find those studies). However, no study has made a direct link between THC and gynecomastia. A decrease in testosterone levels was shown to be temporary in those studies. Alcohol on the other hand has been shown to cause gynecomastia if used chronically and heavily. Alcohol, if abused, works to decrease testosterone through several mechanisms- the worst being damage to the liver and adrenal gland. Alcohol also causes temporary increases in prolactin in males. Heavy use has also been linked to type 2 diabetes, which itself can cause gynecomastia.

If your gynecomastia developed before using thc and alcohol, then its unlikely that those drugs caused it. However, continuing to use those drugs, especially together, can have detrimental effects on your endocrine system.

If it concerns you, you should probably go see your primary care physician to make sure everything is in order.

[joltera]

I developed my gyne when I was 9 or 10..it was fully developed and had not resolved on its own by the time I was 15. I never drank any alcohol or smoked weed until I was 17. from probably 19 till 21 I was a chronic daily smoker. Sometimes I feel like when I was high my nipples would become more puffy and sensitive, but I honestly think it was all in my head because I was paranoid from the rumors. Being high makes you paranoid. It just doesn't make sense that so many people can smoke weed and never develop gyne, and most people who have true gyne get it when they're too young to even know what weed is. I think the only reason that rumor exist is because some lab test on rats showed that THC temporarily lowered testosterone levels. In other words, its probably all BS. But over all you should try to limit your drug use in general. The thing that did make my gyne get worse was working out because my pectoral muscles which sit below the gland made my boobs look even bigger and more feminine.